Please Speak Well of Me
by vanilaice86
Summary: Elena takes matters into her own hands after Stefan leaves.
1. Chapter 1

Please Speak Well of Me – Chapter 1

_First fanfic ever, so be nice. Just my version of what happens immediately after Season 2 finale. Taking some liberties with the story._

It had been ten days since he left with Klaus and four days since she finally accepted it.

She spent the days following his departure laying in bed, refusing to accept that he was gone and drowning in the sadness that resurfaced when he left – Jenna's death was too much to fathom immediately after the sacrifice. When Stefan left, the floodgates opened and all of the pain that had been repressed, for the sake of Jeremy or her own general sanity, was almost too much to bear.

Everyone came and went, stopping in to check on her; following the same script as the one before. They ask her to get out of bed; to take a shower and eat something. Alaric knocks to ask if she needs anything, but never enters. Bonnie and Caroline come by to try to take her mind off things. They tell her about the gossip around town and try to get her to watch television – anything to distract her from what's going on around her. She doesn't speak a word until she asks them to get her some water, slowly rising out of bed to lock the door behind them when they go.

Damon comes over everyday. He updates her on his progress; the places he's searched, the research he's done. How he thinks Klaus and Stefan are in Alabama. The next day, New York. He brushes her hair out of her face and tells her that it's all going to be okay. That he'll find them, kill Klaus and bring Stefan home. Soon, it'll all be over. She never looks at him, facing the window and keeping her eyes closed to hide the salty tears begging to come out.

She thinks of how much easier this would all be if she would have allowed herself to turn. She wants so badly to be able to turn it off; to pretend nothing is missing and nothing hurts. For this, she thinks, Damon may have been looking out for her best interest, and part of her resents Stefan for not allowing it. She thinks of him, out there uncontrollably reveling in what he never wanted to be. She wonders if he's enjoying it; if there's any part of the person she loved left inside of him. The idea that there may not be is what breaks her heart the most.

"...I have a friend in Toronto who says that there are rumors that they are headed over the border. He's going to keep an eye out for me and the first sign that they are there, I'm gone…" Damon says, emphatically pacing across her room. She rolls over and sits up to face him. He stops mid-sentence in surprise that she's even paying attention.

She pushes the hair matted to her face away and crosses her arms. "And what if he's not there, Damon? How long are you going to follow these hunches before you realize that he's gone forever?" She says, with a bitterness that Damon has never heard from her before.

"He's not gone forever. Don't say that." He says, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her, close enough to see the tear tracks down her face.

"Why not? I don't want to live like this, Damon. I don't want to wait for you to come over everyday and break my heart all over again when it's another dead end. I can't."

"I never said I would find him overnight, Elena…" Damon says, as she scoffs and adjusts in her bed. "But I promised I will find him, and I will. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for the choice he made. And if it takes me the rest of my life to find him, then it is what it is." He says, grabbing her hand. She quickly yanks hers away.

"I can't spend the rest of mine that way." She moves to the other side of the bed and gets up, going to her dresser to grab the first clean change of clothes in three days. She walks towards the bathroom, turning before she enters.

"I'm tired, Damon. I didn't think it was possible to be tired after laying in bed for days. My body aches. I feel like my heart is barely beating but it's racing at the same time. Sometimes, I can't even breathe and nothing is getting better. I can't lay around anymore and just wait for something to change. I've never been this girl. I won't be her now." She says, unfolding a towel from its place on the shelf and starting the shower.

"I'm glad you're up." Damon says calmly, standing up and walking towards the bathroom, making sure to stand just far enough away not to intrude. "I don't want you to feel this way anymore, either. And neither would Stefan."

"You have no idea what Stefan would want. All you ever did was disregard what Stefan wanted. And look where he is now. Suffering, again, for you." Elena replies, shutting the door; silently requesting he leave. The words leave a mark, as Damon nods his head in acceptance and begins to leave. He hesitates, standing against the bathroom door, resting his forehead on the center pane.

"I will find him, Elena. I will call you from Toronto." He waits for a response and leaves as he hears the curtain being pulled back as she enters the shower.

On the other side, she lets the warm water run down her face as she leans against the cold tiles. She stays here for a few minutes before slowly washing her hair, letting the sweet smell of shampoo and soap linger – the first comfort she's had in days.

She quickly exits the shower and changes into jeans and a tee-shirt, walking over to the dresser and shoving random clothing into a bag. She'll figure out how it all goes together later. She finishes packing and begins moving toward the door when she stops. She tears a piece of paper out of her journal and leaves a note on her bed for the next visitor who comes. Probably Caroline to come watch Maury on her bed and pretend that Elena was watching too.

_Everyone –_

_The only way I can make this okay is to know that I've done all that I can to bring him back. I love you all. I will check in._

_Damon, don't follow me._

Elena


	2. Chapter 2

She's been driving for two hours before she realizes she doesn't know where she's going. She's been traveling in silence, her mind racing, trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle. She took Jenna's SUV, cringing when she got in at the sight of an old Starbucks cup in the cupholder – the first of a lifetime of reminders that she's really gone. She doesn't throw it away.

She's called Stefan four times. She knows he'll never answer. Hearing his voice on his voicemail helps her believe that maybe she's not just chasing a ghost.

Damon's called her twelve times. Caroline three. Jeremy twice. She never answers; partly because she has nothing to say, partly because she doesn't want a reason to turn back.

Bonnie texts her, begging her to call. Elena deletes them with the others, until Bonnie volunteers to help her with a tracking spell. Elena calls.

"Where are you?" Bonnie answers without a hello. "Damon and Alaric are already on the road looking for you."

"I knew they would be. You can't tell them where I am, Bonnie. I have to do this." Elena says, talking with her hands and allowing the car to sway off the road. She grabs the wheel when the rubber indentions on the side of the road snap her back.

"I won't tell them unless you're in real danger. That's the best I can do." Bonnie said, always supportive, but never negligent.

"Deal. Tracking spell?" Elena asks, ready to find direction.

"We did one for you when Rose took you. I think there are some ways around having to use your blood. It could work." Bonnie said, Elena sensing the hesitancy in her voice.

"Bonnie, why didn't you try this before? We could have already had a lead on Stefan before he got so far…"

"I can't track Stefan or Klaus. His witches made sure of that." Bonnie replies, wishing her powers were finer tuned.

"Then what are we doing here? What's the point of the tracking spell if it won't work?" Elena says, confused and wondering if Bonnie was trying to stall her long enough for Damon and Alaric to find her. After all, Bonnie's used a tracking spell for her once – she could likely do it again.

"I can't track Stefan. But I can track Katherine."

Katherine. The last person Elena ever wanted to speak to, but probably the only person that could help her now. The last words Katherine spoke to Elena were biting, insinuating that she loved them both – that her love for Stefan was riddled with doubt about her feelings for Damon. The thought of that being true made her sick. She cared for Damon, but now, more than ever, she understands the difference.

Would she even know where they were? Surely, she's not with them. She hopes she's not with him.

"Katherine ran from Klaus. There's no way she's with them…" Elena says, only half believing it herself.

"Elena, Katherine kept tabs on Stefan for over a hundred years. I doubt she's stopped now." Elena swallowed hard and clinched her jaw, not believing she was about to ask Katherine for help. It would require a level of groveling that Elena's dignity would not easily allow.

"Fine." Elena shook her head, disgusted with the idea that the one person she hated the most – the very person who likely sent this whole thing into motion months ago – was the only person she could go to for help. If she would even help her.

"I'll call you back in an hour." Bonnie said, holding the phone between her ear and her shoulder while picking up all of the materials she needs and running out the door to the old mansion she and Jeremy were holed up in for days. The only place she felt safe with magic anymore.

She pulls off the highway onto exit 294 to wait for Bonnie's call, not knowing where she's going or what she just did. She sees a roadside diner up ahead and her stomach growls, an uncomfortable reminder of the starvation her body has seen over the past weeks.

The bell over the door rings when she enters. The waitress behind the counter tells her to seat herself, and she slides into a corner booth in the back, sighing in relief as her body rests on the cool vinyl seat. She pulls out her phone and rests it on table to be sure not to miss Bonnie's call.

"Hi. What can I get you?" the waitress says, barely looking up from her order pad.

"Uh, I'm not sure yet. Maybe a Diet Coke for now." Elena says, opening the menu and finding herself overwhelmed with hunger. "Actually, you know what, I'll have a BLT and fries, too. Thank you." She hands the waitress her menu and half smiles. The first smile in as long as she can remember.

She picks up her phone and spins it in her hands, anxious to hear back from Bonnie. She begins to read her texts. Damon wants to know where she is and what she was thinking; tells her she's going to get hurt and to stay where she is. Caroline says she would have come with her if she would have told her. Alaric tells her this isn't the way to solve anything. She continues to scroll through when she sees an old message from Stefan. And another. And another. Tears fill her eyes as she reads his loving messages. She's interrupted by the waitress with her soda.

"Thank you." She says, putting a straw into her drink and drinking half of it in three gulps.

She's finished her sandwich, fries and a piece of cherry pie when her phone starts vibrating. The past three calls have been Damon and Jeremy, she's relieved to see Bonnie's name across the screen.

"Bonnie. Did it work?"

"Yeah. I know where she is. Do you have a pen?" Elena scrambles in her purse looking for a pen. She runs up to the counter and makes a motion like she's writing to the woman behind the counter. The woman pulls the pen from behind her ear and hands it to Elena. She writes down the address, throws a twenty on the counter and runs out the door.

She throws her purse onto the passenger side seat and digs for the GPS she knows Jenna always kept stashed in the glove box. She plugs it in and enters the address Bonnie gives her.


	3. Chapter 3

They had always talked about going there. Strolling in Central Park. Eating at the best restaurants. Going to the Met. Elena would always list the stores she wanted to shop at and Stefan would always roll his eyes. She never thought her first trip there would be like this. She begins to wish she had never come at all.

She has to stop and ask a couple on the street for directions, her GPS getting turned around on all of the one-way streets. The lights blind her as she gets closer, the pit in her stomach growing larger with every block. She has no idea what she'll find on the other side. Katherine could kill her in the blink of an eye – she made sure Elena was always aware of that. She doubts she'll be well received.

Her heart skips a beat with the fleeting idea that they are together. What would she do if he was there? What would she do if they were there together? When Stefan is on the blood, she thinks, he becomes a person that could love Katherine. She shakes her head free of the thought that she'd lost him in that way too.

She pulls up to a large hotel, slightly laughing that Katherine still spares no expense, even when being tracked by the deadliest vampire in the world. The valet offers to park her car for her. She slips him some cash and asks him to park it close, she won't be staying long. She's greeted by the concierge when she enters.

"Miss Pierce, I didn't see you slip out. Welcome back." The gentleman says, smiling large. Elena wonders if he's been compelled – Katherine's nice to no one and surely wouldn't inspire this kind of genuine welcome on her own.

"Thank you. I've seemed to have forgotten my key. Could you help?" Elena says, thinking quick on her feet, realizing she would have too many eyes on her to wander around from floor to floor in hopes to find her.

"Sure. Our Penthouse guests get anything they want." He says, winking. He programs another keycard and she thanks him, turning quickly on her heel before anyone recognizes a difference between the doppelgangers. She gets on the elevator and hits the "P" button. The elevator beeps at her, signaling her to scan the keycard before granting access. She does so, her hands shaking in anticipation for what she might find.

A minute later, the elevator stops and begins to open. Elena is caught off guard when the elevator opens directly into a room. She steps out and is immediately slammed up against the wall, a mirror reflection staring right back at her with fangs drawn.

"I cannot believe you thought this was a smart idea." Katherine says, looking her up and down, never loosening her grip on Elena's throat. Elena is panting hard, barely able to squeak out a response.

"I'm looking for Stefan." She says in a whisper.

"I didn't assume you were here on vacation." Katherine deadpans. "I could snap your neck right now." She says, making sure Elena knows how fragile her life is right now.

"I'd prefer if you didn't." Elena snarks back, inciting a small smile from Katherine. She loosens her grip and walks toward the kitchen. "Drink?" She asks, pouring blood from a bottle into a hotel tumbler and extending the glass to Elena. She smirks at Elena's disgust and downs the glass herself.

"What makes you think that I know where Stefan is?" Katherine asks, sauntering to the couch and motioning Elena to sit. "I ran away for a reason."

"You left because you were afraid of Klaus." Elena says, being quickly cut off by Katherine.

"You could stand to be a bit more fearful of him yourself. He already thinks your dead." Elena adjusts in her chair and continues.

"You left because you were afraid of Klaus. But you followed Stefan for hundreds of years. I assume that didn't stop now." She says, hopeful.

"As much as I'd love to see what Stefan is up to now, all the throats he's ripped open and girls he's bled dry, I don't keep tabs on him now." Katherine gets up, tossing her glass into the sink. "Even if I did, why do you care? Damon boring you already? I always thought he was the more adventurous one…" Elena's blood boils at the insinuation.

"Nothing happened with Damon and I. I thought he was dying. I was trying to comfort him." Elena says, standing up toward the kitchen, where Katherine had boosted herself on the counter.

"Yes, he looked very comfortable from what I saw." Katherine banters back, popping a strawberry in her mouth and smirking. "Listen," she says, jumping off the counter, "as fun as this is, I can't help you. And even if I knew where he was, I wouldn't tell you. And you'd be stupid to try to find him."

"I'm not afraid of Klaus." Elena said, half heartedly believing the words coming out of her mouth.

"It's not Klaus you should be scared of. Klaus may drain you dry. But Stefan will take the time to enjoy it." Katherine says, getting so close to Elena she can hear the pulsing of her veins underneath her skin.

"I've seen Stefan on human blood. He would never hurt me. We love each other too much." Katherine laughs at her naiveté and pulls back.

"You've seen Stefan on what? A two-day bender? It's nothing compared to the life he lives now. He's a ripper, Elena. I know you think you know what that means, but you have no idea. He doesn't love anything but the blood. You should see him now. You'd be disgusted."

"I should see him now? Does that mean you've seen him? I thought you didn't know where he was." Elena asks, following Katherine to the other end of the room, noticing Katherine's discomfort at her persistence. Katherine spins around.

"What is it with you?" Katherine practically screams, knocking Elena back. She's never heard Katherine raise her voice before. Her calmness was usually the cruelest part of her words. "Wasn't your martyr trail before the sacrifice enough? Why do you have a death wish?"

"I just want to find Stefan." Elena says, softening, giving up hope that this was any different than all of Damon's dead ends.

"If you find Stefan, you will die. It's as simple as that. Stefan did what he did to save Damon, but also to protect you, for whatever reason. I won't be a part of sending you on your little death march." Katherine says, pushing the elevator door to send Elena on her way.

"You don't care if he dies, do you? You say you love him, but that's not love. It's obsession. If you loved him, you'd want me to at least try." Elena spits, walking towards the open elevator door.

"You think you love him more than I do? You have something to prove? Fine. Your life means nothing to me." Katherine says, handing Elena a handwritten address on the back of a pizza coupon flyer. "Do me a favor. Don't tell Stefan I sent you."


	4. Chapter 4

Damon runs out the front door of the gas station he and Alaric have stopped at when he sees Elena's name on his cell phone.

"Alaric." He snaps and motions for Alaric to come outside when he's done buying his red bull and Snickers.

"Elena. Where are you? Are you okay? What were you thinking?" Damon says, rushed and out of breath.

"I'm fine." Elena said, avoiding getting into a long discussion with Damon about how dangerous her choice as and how her life is in danger.

"Where are you? Stay there. We'll come get you."

"I'm in New York, Damon. And no, you won't come get me. I won't be here for long. I'm on my way out of town." She says, sitting in her car, sticking a piece of gum in her mouth and letting the car warm up. It had gotten unseasonably cold.

"Why are you in New York? I told you he wasn't there. I've looked there. Where are you going now?" He asked, frustrated that Elena chose to backtrack his steps.

"I didn't come here for Stefan. I came to find Katherine." Elena closed her eyes, waiting for the yelling from the other end. All she was met with was silence.

"…and what did Katherine have to say? I'm sure she was as helpful as always."

"She gave me an address. She says that's where Stefan is." She says, opening the piece of paper and intensely reading it for the 12th time.

"And you believe her? We're believing Katherine now?" Damon says, incredulously, as Alaric walks in on the conversation, mouth gaped wide at the mention of Katherine's name. He had enjoyed at least one element of the last year being gone.

"Damon, I didn't call for your permission. I called because I wanted you to know I was safe and you could stop looking for me."

"Stop looking for you? You're seriously not going to tell me where you are?" Damon says, rage filling his voice.

"I need to do this on my own Damon. I'll call you when I find him." Elena hangs up, looking in her mirror and pulling out into traffic, heading out of the city.

The GPS says it'll take 3 hours to get to there and Elena is ready to drive through the night. Sleeping is not an option, not when he's so close. Her mind races with thoughts of what she might find. What Katherine said about Elena having no idea of what a ripper truly is floods her brain; thinking Katherine was right, then convincing herself she's not.

She refuses to believe that Stefan is incapable of loving her like he did before. Refuses to believe that the blood has changed his ability to love. It makes him love harder, feel more. She refuses to believe that he's forgotten what she meant to him.

The sun begins to rise as she pulls into the sleepy, small town she had been both excited and terrified to find. The streets are dead and there isn't a person in sight. She pulls past the local diner, the two gas stations and the elementary school to find the street she's looking for. It's on a normal street, in a normal neighborhood. Not necessarily where you'd think you'd find a ripper. Elena supposes hiding in plain sight has been Klaus' MO for a while – and Stefan's too, once she thinks about it.

She comes to the address Katherine gave her in New York and stops the car in front of an old, run down mansion. Ivy grows up the columns and the house is almost brown, instead of the white it clearly used to be. The hedges are overgrown and the gate is rusty. She gets out of her car and pushes the gate forward, driving up the driveway. She sees three cars parked in the driveway – a large black SUV, a small sedan and a classic red convertible.

Elena stops in the middle of the driveway, immediately filled with excitement and regret. She had no gameplan, no plan of action. What was she expecting to do here? Just ring the doorbell and be welcomed with open arms? She felt stupid and unprepared. She turned back to her car. Maybe she would call Damon and Alaric and come later.

She's almost at the gate when she hears his voice.

"My dear, I thought you were dead." She freezes at Klaus' words. She panics and begins to run, refusing to think that she had come this far just to be killed by Klaus. He speeds in front of her, smiling.

"Is Mr. Salvatore expecting you? Generally we discuss house guests." He runs two fingers down the side of her face. Elena cringes and swallows the lump in her throat.

"He's not expecting me." She says, trying to hide her fear. She hopes seeing Stefan will be more comforting.

"Well, this will be a fun little surprise for everyone then, won't it? I'll have to scold him for not telling me you were still alive. Come," he says, extending his arm to her. "Let's go see what our little Stefan is up to. He's probably hungry for breakfast."


	5. Chapter 5

Klaus leads her into the old house. It was immaculately clean – not what Elena thought she'd be walking into from a couple of "rippers" on a blood bender. He walked three steps ahead of her, silent, until they reached the living room.

"I'll go see if Stefan is available." He's calm and almost kind and it catches Elena off guard.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Elena asks, immediately regretting the question.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He asks, standing in front of her with his hands behind his back, smiling.

"I don't know." Elena says, looking away, unable to make eye contact.

"I have no reason not to be, Elena. Stefan will kill you soon enough, I'm sure." Elena looks up at him wide-eyed. "Sit tight, my dear." And he's gone.

She begins pacing the room, questioning if she should risk running. He would undoubtedly hear her and snap her neck. Though it looks like staying or going will kill her. Staying will let her see Stefan, she hopes.

Her back is turned to the hallway, looking at the dusty bookshelves, running her hands over all of the old, classic titles likely left here by the owners before. She jumps when she hears a slow clap. She turns around to see him walking towards her.

"I'm impressed with your investigative skills." It's Stefan. Her breath hitches and she is frozen in place. He looks as beautiful as ever – disheveled hair, jeans and a Henley. Barefoot. She immediately wants to run to him, but can't deny how much darker his eyes have become. Dangerous. Pained.

"Hi." It's all she can muster the courage to say. It was only two days ago she was bedridden, unable to imagine the day when they'd see each other again. And now here he was. Standing right in front of her. A smirk on his face she had never seen before.

"I have to say, when Klaus told me I had a visitor, you were the last person I expected. I assumed Damon would find his way here before you would." He picks up a glass that had been sitting on the coffee table and emptied its contents, a bit of blood staying on his face until he licks it away.

She stands there, paralyzed with fear and uncertainty. He stares at her, looking her up and down like he had never seen her before; like she was prey.

"You traveled all this way. Don't you have something to say?" He asks, moving closer, within an arms length of her. The closer he gets, the more nervous she becomes. Stefan knew her better than anyone in the world. They had shared things that she would never want to share with anyone else ever again. And yet she feels like she's standing with a stranger.

"I don't know what to say." She says, honestly. Looking down at the ground and back up at him again. Longing to see a glimpse of what she missed.

"You were stupid to have come here."

"I know."

"Do you?" He replies with a smirk. Like a cat ready to chase a mouse. "Then why did you come?"

"I guess I just needed to see you. Needed you." He laughs at her, shattering her heart into a million pieces. This wasn't Stefan. She knew he'd be different. But she didn't expect something so cold and disinterested. She thought there would be something deeper there still.

"You don't need me. You have Damon, don't you? Where is Damon, anyways? I figured once I was out of the picture, you two would be inseperable." He says, inching closer and closer with each bitter word.

"Don't do that. Don't act like I betrayed you." She says, not willing to give up without a fight.

"Didn't you?" He yells, slamming his hands on the wall behind her. "How do you think Katherine knew where I was? I assume that's who told you, yes?" He says, continuing. "She couldn't wait to share what she walked in on when she came to save my brother's life. The life that I'm still paying for." He says, sitting on the couch now. Nonchalant, as if this conversation means nothing. Her efforts mean nothing to him.

"He was dying." She said, walking closer to him now. Her confidence growing with each accusatory comment he throws. He doesn't respond. He stands from the couch and walks up to her. Close enough that she can feel his breath. Her heartbeat fastens as he touches her face and pulls her closer. Part of her wants to run. Part of her wants to kiss him. To hold him like she used to. To love him until he remembers that he used to love her too.

"But he's not dead, is he?" He says, softly. She shakes her head. "I sacrificed everything for him. And for you. And now I have to live for eternity knowing I should have let you both die." He spits as he walks past her. Tears fill her eyes. She doesn't know if its sadness or anger that puts them there.

"How can you say that to me? If I didn't love you, I wouldn't be here." She says, turning to him.

"If love is what brought you here, well, that's a shame Elena." He says, leaning against the bookshelf. Elena sees Klaus hovering out of the corner of her eye.

"Why is that, Stefan?" He laughs at her words, admiring her tenacity.

"You came all this way for love, thinking you'd find it again here with me. And all I want to do right now, is kill you." He steps closer to her again. Their lips brush and it sends chills down her spine. His fangs show and she begins to back away but his tight hold on her waist won't allow it. He sings his teeth into her shoulder, relishing in the taste. She moans in pain, but suppresses the urge to scream, tears streaming down her face.

"Klaus, would you like to help?" He asks as he rises from her shoulder, maintaining his stare with Elena, never looking away.

"Ah, I've already had my taste of her not long ago. I think it'd be more poetic if you enjoyed her on your own. Star-crossed lovers and whatnot. I'm going into town. We'll see what kind of breakfast I can round up for myself. Carry on." He kisses Elena's hand and pats Stefan on the back and he's gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Stefan keeps his eyes locked on Elena's for what feels like an eternity. Tears fill her eyes as she waits for it all to be over with. At least this way, it won't hurt anymore, she thinks.

He breaks his gaze and licks his lips and walks to the front of the house, listening. The sound of a car starting up and tearing down the gravel driveway is loud and noticeable. Elena stands, in the dark library, afraid to move. They were alone now. She never thought being alone with him would scare her so much. She touches her shoulder and can feel the puncture wounds with her fingers.

He walks back in the room, the entire span of the library between them. She's unsure, but she thinks she can see his face soften in the pale sunlight.

"Elena." He says as he rushes towards her. She runs backwards in fear. Her back against the wall, he touches her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He asks. She's caught off guard.

"What?" She asks, confusion covering her face.

"I'm sorry." He says as he tries to cover her wound. "I'm so sorry." He keeps repeating over and over and over until it stops making any sense.

"Stefan? I don't…what's going…" He shushes her, pulling her into a hug, playing with her hair and kissing the side of her head. She stands there, with her hands by her side for what seems like an eternity to Stefan before she embraces him.

"Stefan." She says breathing a sigh of relief and holding him tighter than ever. He leans back to look at her, both hands holding her face. He kisses her hard. It would have hurt if Elena hadn't been aching for it for weeks. He pulls apart from the kiss and begins frantically pacing around the room.

"Elena, you have to leave. You cant be here. It's not safe for you. If he comes back and you're not dead, he'll kill you himself."

"Stefan. What is going on? You're…you." Elena moves close to him, grabbing his arm. He pulls it away like it burns.

"I'm playing his game, Elena. As long as I have to until I figure out how to get out of this." He looks at her. The pained look in his eyes returns.

"But how? How are you not turning into who you used to be?"

"Everyday leading up to the sacrifice, I drank a bag of blood. I started small with your blood, but it wasn't enough. I needed more for it to matter." He said, looking down, ashamed.

"You never told me." It wasn't a question. It was a fact. She felt betrayed. And relieved at the same time.

"I didn't want you to know. I didn't want you to have to go through what you went through the first time." She thinks back to when he went on a bender and she had to inject him with vervain. That was the lowest point she'd ever seen him. She loved him more in that moment than ever before.

"You have to go. Now." He says, grabbing her hand and pushing her to the door.

"I can't just go, Stefan. I won't. Not without you." She stands her ground, refusing to let him force her out. She needed him. And now it's clear he needed her.

"I can't protect you from him, Elena. I couldn't during the sacrifice and I can't now. You have to go home. And try to live a normal life. Damon will protect you, I have no doubt."

There it was again. _I have no doubt_. It pierced like a million knives – the idea that he's here, suffering, and thinking that she was spending this time to fall in love with Damon. She slaps him hard across the face. He looks at her with wide eyes and a clenched jaw.

"I did not betray you, Stefan. I came here to find you because I love you. And I won't leave you here to die."

"If you love me, Elena, you'll go. You can't save me. Just go." He opens the door to usher her out.

"What do we have here?" Klaus is standing on the other side of the door, blood stained lips and teeth. "I told you I didn't want any, but it's nice of you to save some for me. You're a nice chap."

Klaus lunges. Elena feels his teeth pierce her neck. Everything goes black.


	7. Chapter 7

The ache in her neck throbs so hard it wakes her up. Her eyes adjust to the dark and all she can see is cold, wet concrete. She wonders if she's still human.

She touches the two, perfect puncture wounds on her neck and forces herself to swallow the hint of disappointment that she is.

She sits up from the fetal position she was laying in and sees a single door in the far corner of the room. She's dizzy and lies back down, staring at the ceiling. She drifts in and out of consciousness for the next few hours; her mind flashing back to everything she's risked to come find him. She cries for Bonnie and Caroline, her two best friends who were there with her everyday before she left. She cries for Jeremy and this loss he'll now have to face. She wonders how he'll survive it.

She cries for Damon. Damon. Tirelessly searching for her, trying to save her. Trying to save him. She cries because she knows his efforts will have been in vain.

She doesn't know how long it's been when she hears something from the other side of the wall. She crawls closer, putting her ear as close as she can get to the concrete without getting wet. It's a low moaning sound. She can barely make out the words as they get stifled through the walls. She hears her name and she knows it's him.

"Stefan?" She backs away from the wall, surveying the distance between them. "Stefan? STEFAN!" She yells, slamming her body against the wall, ignoring the pain surging through her - desperate for him to respond; desperate to get to him.

"Elena…stop." She hears as faint as she's ever heard him. The pain in his voice seeps through every pore of the thick wall. "Don't let him know you're awake."

"Are you okay? What did he do to you?" She begs, more worried for him than her own well being. She whips around to face the door when she hears it swing open.

"You should probably be less concerned with what I did to him and more concerned with what I plan to do with you." Klaus answers, walking in to the small, damp room, leaving the door open behind him. He walks up to her, crouching down and lifting her head to the side, surveying her wounds.

"That's healing nicely, isn't it?" He asks rhetorically, running his hand across her still bleeding wounds and licking his fingers. She shudders with every touch.

"It's fine." She says, ducking away from him.

"Did you really think I would trust him to kill you on his own?" Klaus stands, hovering above her. "Stefan's love for you appears to be the weakest part about him."

Klaus moves towards the door. Elena, wills herself to stand up, leaning against the wall for support.

"What did you do to him?" She yells, anger filling her body. Klaus turns around, laughing.

"Oh, don't worry, he's still alive for now. I have use for him yet."

"Just let him go. You can have me. That's what you wanted, isn't it?" Elena asks, defiantly moving towards him. He looks her up and down, amused by her assumption.

"Contrary to popular belief, Miss. Gilbert, this is not all about you." Klaus moves to shut the door when Elena steps in between the door and the wall. Klaus continues.

"I have word out to Katherine that if she doesn't move fast, her beloved Salvatore brother won't be around much longer."

"Katherine? You're using Stefan to lure in Katherine?" Elena asks, astonished. She knew Katherine would never come. Stefan would die waiting for her. They both would.

"It seems you aren't the only doppelganger willing to risk life and limb to save him." Klaus closes the door, leaving Elena in the dark.

"What if she doesn't come?" Elena asks, into the darkness. "WHAT IF SHE DOESN'T COME?" She screams into silence.

The only sound she hears is the sound of water dripping onto the cold floor.


End file.
